Rhythm Dash!

Here's a fun game we used in the studio this summer.  It quickly became a favorite!

Who can be the first team or player to get 5 in a row and win?  This is a game that reviews note values in a fun, interactive way!

To play, you need a game board(directions below), the game cards (found here) and chips or game pieces for each team or player.

This is how we played the game - I put 4 teams together (one team of leaders!) and placed all the cards facedown on the floor a distance away.  Players took turns running down to select a card and to determine the amount of beats on the card they chose.  Once they determined the number of beats, then they had to decide where to place their team chip to either try and get their own 5-in-a-row OR to place it in a way that would block another team that may be close to winning.

Here's a look at the cards.  The game board uses numbers 3-12 (10 of each) so there are 10 cards with 3 beats, 10 cards with 4 beats, 10 cards with 5 beats, etc.  So 100 rhythm cards, PLUS cards that say, "Bump an Opponent!" and "Wild Card!".   You can print as many of these extra cards as you want.

If a player selects a "Bump an Opponent!" card, it enables him to remove a chip from an opposing team or player.  This helps to stop them from getting 5-in-a-row, or removes a chip that an opposing team placed earlier that was meant to stop you from getting 5-in-a-row.  You can decide if you want them to be able to place their own chip in it's place or just leave it blank.  A "Wild Card!" allows players to place a chip anywhere they want on the board.

To make a larger game board, you can simply use a poster board or foam board and draw a grid 10 x 10 which will give you 100 squares.  In each square randomly write in numbers 3-12 using 10 of each number.

If you prefer something more compact or without the extra work, you can print a smaller version here.  I made it without color for a bit of savings so I would suggest printing it on a colored piece of cardstock.

That's it!  You're now ready to play!


I hope you enjoy using this game with your students!  If you're a elementary school teacher, this would be a great day for your 100th day of school!